“Laugh Your Socks Off!” fundraiser in McGregor helps out SACU

Leo Dufour (left), Keith Lenart (centre) and Jonny P (right) were the comedians at Saturday night’s “Laugh Your Socks Off!” fundraiser for SACU.

Laughter in McGregor will turn into support for children in Africa thanks to a fundraiser held over the weekend.

The “Laugh Your Socks Off!” dinner and comedy show was held last Saturday night with proceeds going to Save African Child Uganda (SACU). Roughly 124 people attended the April 18 show at the Columbian Club in McGregor, headlined by comedians Jonny P, Keith Lenart and Amherstburg’s own Leo Dufour.

Proceeds from the show will go towards SACU’s education and nutrition programs for children and youth in Uganda.

Ingrid Silvaggio-Heugh and Rick Vriesen, two members of the SACU team, said they were happy with the turn out at “Laugh Your Socks Off!”

“Many don’t even know about SACU. They are new to us,” she said. “I’m excited about it. We want to let them know what we have to say about our grassroots organization.”

Vriesen said teacher salaries and food are some of the ongoing expenses in the village of Buwundo in Uganda, where SACU has built schools and continues to feed children.

“Those are the things we are focusing on,” said Vriesen. We complain here about how expensive food is, but that is true in Uganda as well.”

Transportation costs in Uganda are also rising, he added.

Silvaggio-Heugh said teachers in Uganda work hard, many putting in eight to ten hour days, with some coming back in the evenings. They would like to pay the teachers more, but that depends on funding.

SACU’s schools are ranked seventh in Uganda, a country of roughly 24 million people, she added. They are the top school in their district.

People from outside areas are coming to the school system in Buwundo, Silvaggio-Heugh added, though some are coming from more prosperous areas of the nation.

“We support people who can’t get food or an education,” added Vriesen.

SACU supports over 200 students, with 153 in primary school and the rest in high school. Youth who are sponsored can also go to university, often with the aid of their sponsor. Vriesen said sponsoring a child or youth is tax deductible.

A railway system that cuts through the village in Uganda has negatively impacted the school and the families going there. Silvaggio-Heugh said children SACU supports were displaced by the railway construction. Out of 15 children displaced, only one has been located.

Silvaggio-Heugh said she has been to Uganda four times. Circumstances are improving, but she said there is still suffering. Over her visits, she has seen children going without food and having to go into the sugar cane fields for food , and drinking and cleaning themselves in dirty water. 

SACU is proud of its students, Silvaggio-Heugh added.

The next fundraiser is a yard sale at 6625 Matchett Road in LaSalle this Friday and Saturday (April 24 & 25) from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. each day.

For information or to donate, visit www.sacuganda.org or www.sacuspirit.org. 

“Laugh Your Socks Off!” fundraiser in McGregor helps out SACU

By Ron Giofu